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Richard Jaeckel | |
|---|---|
 Jaeckel in a 1953 publicity photo forCome Back, Little Sheba | |
| Born | R. Hanley Jaeckel (1926-10-10)October 10, 1926 Long Beach, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 14, 1997(1997-06-14) (aged 70) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1943–1994 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingBarry Jaeckel |
| Awards | 1971 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (nomination) |
| War service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch | US Merchant Marine |
| Years of service | 1944–1946 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Richard Jaeckel (bornR. Hanley Jaeckel; October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American character actor of film and television[1][2] whose career spanned six decades. He received an Academy Award nomination forBest Supporting Actor with his role in the 1971 adaptation ofKen Kesey'sSometimes a Great Notion.
Jaeckel was born October 10, 1926, inLong Beach, New York, the son of Richard Jaeckel and Millicent Hanley. His father was active in the family's fur business, and his mother was a stage actress. His birth name wasR. Hanley Jaeckel, with only the initial rather than a first name. He attendedThe Harvey School and other private schools. The family lived in New York until 1934, when they moved toLos Angeles, where his father operated a branch of the family business. He graduated fromHollywood High School.[3]
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A short, tough man, Jaeckel played a variety of characters during his 50 years in films and television. Jaeckel got his start in the business at the age of seventeen while he was employed as a mailboy at20th Century Fox studios in Hollywood.[3]: 8 A casting director auditioned him for a role in the 1943 filmGuadalcanal Diary; Jaeckel won the role and settled into a lengthy career in supporting parts.[4]
He served in theUnited States Merchant Marine from 1944 to 1946,[5][6] then starred in two of the most remembered war films of 1949:Battleground andSands of Iwo Jima withJohn Wayne. One of Jaeckel's shortest film roles was inThe Gunfighter, in which his character is killed byGregory Peck's character in the opening scene. He played the role of Turk, the roomer's boyfriend, in theAcademy Award-winning 1952 filmCome Back, Little Sheba, withShirley Booth,Burt Lancaster, andTerry Moore.
In 1960, he appeared as Angus Pierce in the Western,Flaming Star, starringElvis Presley. He playedLee Marvin's able second-in-command, Sgt. Bowren, in the 1967 filmThe Dirty Dozen for directorRobert Aldrich, and reprised the role in the 1985 sequel,The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission. Jaeckel appeared in several other Aldrich films, includingBig Leaguer (1953),Attack (1956),Ulzana's Raid (1972), andTwilight's Last Gleaming (1977).
He guest-starred in many television programs. He was cast as a boxer in a 1954 episode ofReed Hadley'sCBSlegal drama,The Public Defender. Also in 1954, Jaeckel portrayedBilly the Kid in an episode of thesyndicatedWesternanthology series,Stories of the Century, withJim Davis as the fictitious Southwest Railroad detective Matt Clark.Seven years later, Jaeckel played "Denver" in "The Grudge Fight" episode of theNBC Western seriesThe Tall Man.
In 1957, he appeared as Mort Claffey in two episodes, "Paratroop Padre" and "The Light," of the syndicated religion anthology series,Crossroads. That same year, he portrayed Lieutenant Bradshaw in episode "War of the Whale Boats" of the military drama,Navy Log. In 1956-57, he appeared in three episodes of another military drama,The West Point Story.
In 1955 and 1958, Jaeckel appeared in different roles on two episodes of CBS's fantasy dramaThe Millionaire. In 1958, Jaeckel guest-starred as Webb Martin in the episode "The Bloodline" of NBC's Western seriesCimarron City. That same year, he appeared in the syndicated drama of theAmerican Civil War,Gray Ghost in the episode entitled "The Hero". In 1959, he was cast as Clint Gleason in episode "The Man Behind the Star" of CBS'sThe Texan Western series, starringRory Calhoun.
In 1960, Jaeckel appeared twice onNick Adams's ABC Western series,The Rebel, as Marshal Roader in "The Rattler" and as Clyde Traskel in "Run, Killer, Run".
During the 1961-62 season, Jaeckel had a starring role (withJohn Derek andChill Wills) on CBS'Frontier Circus, an adventure drama about a one-ring circus traveling the American West during the 1880's. Jaeckel's character Tony Gentry served as an advance location scout for the circus in addition to assisting John Derek's circus manager Ben Travis. Jaeckel appeared in all 26 episodes with featured player roles in several episodes, most notably "Karina" oppositeElizabeth Montgomery.
In 1963, Jaeckel played Willie the murderer in "The Case of the Lover's Leap" on CBS'sPerry Mason, starringRaymond Burr. That same year he was among the guest stars on the short-livedABC/Warner Brothers Western series,The Dakotas and in "The Predators" episode ofHave Gun – Will Travel, Season 6 (1962). Also in 1963, Jaeckel, speaking in German, played the role ofWehrmacht Sgt. Buxman in theCombat! TV series episode "Gideon's Army." Finally in that year, he guest starred in the TV Western SeriesGunsmoke in the S8E27 episode "Two of a Kind", playing Irish immigrant mine owner O'Ryan, who was feuding with his partner. Jaeckel appeared inAlfred Hitchcock Presents "Incident in a Small Jail" (1961) as well asThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour episodes, "Low Clouds and Coastal Fog" (1963), "Death of a Cop (1963), and "Off Season" (1965). In 1964, Jaeckel appeared as Danny in the episode "Keep Cool" ofThe New Phil Silvers Show and as Mitch Devlin in an episode ofBonanza, ″Between Heaven and Earth″.
In 1966, Jaeckel made a second guest appearance onPerry Mason as Mike Woods in the episode "The Case of the Bogus Buccaneers". That same year, he also co-starred as Christopher Cable in an episode – "The Night of the Grand Emir" – ofThe Wild Wild West. Also that year he played "Percy Farley", part of a bank robbing gang in a rare two part episode called "The Raid" onGunsmoke. He guest-starred in 1967 as Dibbs in the episode "Night of Reckoning" onBonanza.
Jaeckel's most famous film appearances of the 1950s are in3:10 to Yuma (1957) andThe Naked and the Dead (1958). His film career achieved its greatest success in the period 1967 to 1975, in such features asThe Dirty Dozen (1967),The Devil's Brigade (1968),Chisum (1970),Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor),Ulzana's Raid (1972),Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973),The Outfit (1973),The Drowning Pool (1975), andWalking Tall Part 2 (1975).Chisum was aJohn Wayne vehicle in which Jaeckel,Christopher George andAndrew Prine all co-starred in prominent supporting roles. The three would re-team six years later inGrizzly (1976) (an amiable "Jaws" ripoff reset in the forest), and Jaeckel and George would team again in another "nature strikes back" story,Day of the Animals (1977). In 1976, he starred in the B movieMako: The Jaws of Death.
In 1975, he starred as the title character on the episode "Larkin" onGunsmoke (S20E17). In 1977, Jaeckel appeared withDonna Mills,Bill Bixby, andWilliam Shatner in the last episode, entitled "The Scarlet Ribbon", of NBC's Western seriesThe Oregon Trail, starringRod Taylor andAndrew Stevens. The following year he played Sergeant Lykes in the epic TV miniseriesCentennial.He had a recurring role in the short-livedAndy Griffith vehicleSalvage 1 (1979).
The later films in his career included a major role inJohn Carpenter's 1984 filmStarman as an NSA agent hunting an alien life form played byJeff Bridges as well as in the action filmsBlack Moon Rising withTommy Lee Jones andDelta Force 2: The Colombian Connection withChuck Norris. In his later years, Jaeckel was known to television audiences as Lt. Ben Edwards onBaywatch from seasons 2-4. He also played Al Gibson in the Baywatch Pilot. He also co-starred onRobert Urich's ABC seriesSpenser: For Hire in the role of Lieutenant Martin Quirk.
On May 29, 1947, Jaeckel married Antoinette Helen Marches in Tijuana, Mexico. They had two sons,[7]Barry and Richard.[1]
Jaeckel died of cancer at the age of 70 in 1997 at theMotion Picture & Television Hospital inWoodland Hills, California.[8]
In 1972, Jaeckel received anAcademy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role inSometimes a Great Notion.[9] In 1992, he received a Golden Boot Award for his work in Westerns.[10]
